Jacob Bridgeman wins first PGA Tour title at Genesis Invitational, admits “I thought it was going to be a lot easier”

Amid the roaring, clapping, cheering, and hooting crowd at the Genesis Invitational, Jacob Bridgeman held his nerve to clinch his first PGA Tour title on Sunday. The emotions were evident on Bridgeman's face. He stood silently, smiling and looking upward, imagining the moment he would win the Genesis Invitational, his first PGA Tour success. Bridgeman described feeling numb in his hands, while McIlroy praised his composure.

Here’s how Jacob Bridgeman won his first PGA Tour title at Genesis Invitational

Jacob Bridgeman started with a six-shot lead and stretched it to seven with 12 holes to play. But as the lead began to shrink with superb finishes from Adam Scott (63), Kurt Kitayama (64), and finally Rory McIlroy (67), he lost feeling in his hands on the putter. Still, he was determined. He didn’t want to let this big opportunity slip away on the grand stage.

Bridgeman pulled it together with one last par, sinking a 3-footer on the 18th for a 1-over 72 and securing a one-shot victory over McIlroy and Kitayama for his first PGA Tour title. "I thought it was going to be a lot easier than that," Bridgeman told reporters, as quoted by AFP.
Bridgeman finished at 18-under 266. Despite hearing constant cheers for the legendary McIlroy, the face of golf, he didn’t feel nervous. All he did was focus on his target.

Bridgeman said, "I didn’t really feel crazy nervous until I had a five-footer for bogey on 16. That one was sketchy. I hit a really good putt and luckily it went in, and then I was really nervous from there on out. I couldn’t even feel my hands on the last couple of greens, just hit the putt hoping it would get somewhere near the hole. And both of them I left a mile short. I’m glad it’s done now."

Rory McIlroy lauds victorious Jacob Bridgeman

Rory McIlroy, meanwhile, had five birdies, including a hole-out from a greenside bunker at the 12th. McIlroy said his main reaction was to tell his caddie, "It saves us from putting."

He was also impressed with Bridgeman's response to the late challenge. "Once I started to trust my reads a bit on the back nine and went more with my first instinct, I putted a little bit better," said McIlroy.

"He was making a lot of pars, and then obviously at the end Kurt did what he did and Adam posted, and I started to make a couple birdies. It’s hard to close out big tournaments. Even though he was a little shaky coming down the stretch, he held it together when he needed to," McIlroy added.

Leading final-round scores on Sunday in US PGA Tour Genesis Invitational

266 - Jacob Bridgeman (USA) 66-64-64-72
267 - Kurt Kitayama (USA) 71-64-68-64, Rory McIlroy (NIR) 66-65-69-67
268 - Adam Scott (AUS) 70-63-72-63
269 - Aldrich Potgieter (RSA) 68-68-65-68
271 - Jake Knapp (USA) 73-65-67-66
272 - Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 69-66-70-67, Xander Schauffele (USA) 68-65-70-69, Collin Morikawa (USA) 68-69-70-65, Cameron Young (USA) 72-68-66-66, Ryan Fox (NZL) 67-69-69-67
273 - Alexander Noren (SWE) 74-66-67-66, Min Woo Lee (AUS) 69-65-74-65, Jordan Spieth (USA) 70-67-70-66, Scottie Scheffler (USA) 74-68-66-65

Also read: “Shut the…”: Rory McIlroy snaps at spectator at Genesis Invitational


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